Sent by Dr. Delany to Dr. Swift, in Order to Be Admitted to Speak to Him When He Was Deaf. 1724
Dear Sir, I think, 'tis doubly hard,Your ears and doors should both be barr'd.Can anything be more unkind?Must I not see, 'cause you are blind?Methinks a friend at night should cheer you,--A friend that loves to see and hear you.Why am I robb'd of that delight,When you can be no loser by'tNay, when 'tis plain (for what is plainer?)That if you heard you'd be no gainer?For sure you are not yet to learn,That hearing is not your concern.Then be your doors no longer barr'd:Your business, sir, is to be heard.
Words in this poem
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- loser n.
- One who loses. South.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sent by Dr. Delany to Dr. Swift, in Order to Be Admitted to Speak to Him When He Was Deaf. 1724 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #14353; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jonathan Swift, Sent by Dr. Delany to Dr. Swift, in Order to Be Admitted to Speak to Him When He Was Deaf. 1724, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/sent-by-dr-delany-to-dr-swift-in-order-to-be-admitted-to-speak-to-him-when-he-was-deaf-1724.html, id L25612.
Form and metre
Sent by Dr. Delany to Dr. Swift, in Order to Be Admitted to Speak to Him When He Was Deaf. 1724 is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 71% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCC--DDEEA- hardA · barr'dA · unkindB · blindB · youC · youC · delight · by't · plainerD · gainerD · learnE · concernE · barr'dA · heard
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Sir, I think, 'tis doubly hard, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Your ears and doors should both be barr'd. | 8 | ········ |
| Can anything be more unkind? | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Must I not see, 'cause you are blind? | 8 | ········ |
| Methinks a friend at night should cheer you,-- | 9 | ˘/······· |
| A friend that loves to see and hear you. | 9 | ········· |
| Why am I robb'd of that delight, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| When you can be no loser by't | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nay, when 'tis plain (for what is plainer?) | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That if you heard you'd be no gainer? | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| For sure you are not yet to learn, | 8 | ········ |
| That hearing is not your concern. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Then be your doors no longer barr'd: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Your business, sir, is to be heard. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.